Effective Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is a program through which an organization involves those who may be affected, directly or indirectly, by its decisions or those who may influence the implementation of its decisions.
In the context of RP 1185, engagement should be both effective and meaningful. Effective engagement seeks a broad set of stakeholders and incorporates the good faith application of the following core principles:
- Openness and transparency
- Respect
- Reciprocity
- Inclusiveness
- Accessibility, and
- Equity
Meaningful engagement allows for public input into an operator’s plans, the consideration of public input when modifying plans, and for the different perspectives that result from an equitable and inclusive approach to engagement.
Effective engagement is intentional and requires careful identification and consideration of stakeholders – particularly vulnerable or underrepresented populations that face barriers to participation that may be unknown or historically have not been considered in the planning process.
Barriers can be identified through careful audience identification in the planning process and often include linguistic, cultural, or racial differences, the lack of safe or affordable transportation, or limited or no access to technology.
The engagement framework outlined in RP 1185 includes six elements to be consistently applied throughout the pipeline life cycle:
- Commit and align
- Identify, understand, and confirm
- Plan and prepare
- Share information
- Ask, listen, and respond, and
- Monitor, evaluate, and adjust
There may be stakeholders who choose not to engage with an operator at the time of outreach; they may or may not wish to engage later. An effective engagement program will promote proactive, inclusive two-way communication and good faith efforts to meet stakeholder information needs when (and how) they’re ready to engage.